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Mayor Wells outlines 2025 accomplishments and 2026 goals for Junction City
Summary
Mayor Kenneth Wells delivered the State of the City on Jan. 13, highlighting police upgrades (new evidence room, more in‑car terminals and Axon equipment), public‑works grants exceeding $2 million, digital finance workflows and community‑center reopening; administration cited $2.1M in grants and $3M in loan forgiveness for the city.
Mayor Kenneth Wells delivered the State of the City address at the Jan. 13 Junction City Council meeting, summarizing department accomplishments for 2025 and laying out goals for 2026. He noted the police department completed an on‑site evidence room in March 2025, upgraded in‑car and body‑worn equipment under a renewed Axon contract, and increased mobile data terminals in patrol cars from three to eleven to improve officer access to information.
Wells also reported public works secured several grants totaling over $2,000,000 for water and sewer projects and completed work on the new Bailey Well and park upgrades, including a pickleball court. On the finance side, staff converted paper processes to fillable digital workflows and achieved near‑gold monthly reporting (11 of 12 months), while administrative efforts included migrating records to Oregon Records Management Systems and recording $2,100,000 in grants and $3,000,000 in loan forgiveness awarded to the city. ‘‘We scheduled enhanced traffic patrols on July 4, Halloween and New Year’s Eve for improved safety,’’ the mayor said as he outlined public‑safety priorities.
Councilors and staff responded with department‑level questions and goals for 2026: police policy reviews, public‑works projects tied to MWMC coordination, and continuing digital conversions in finance. The mayor closed by asking staff to continue updates on identified projects and noted the council’s appreciation for the work of city employees.
